THE TOPIC OF WEIGHT

Weight-loss surgery could decrease chances of diabetes

New research from London has found that bariatric surgery - weight-loss surgery - lessens the likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes in the obese.

Some 3% of obese persons develop Type 2 diabetes yearly, but that figure drops to 0.5% with surgery.

A news release on the study quotes author Professor Martin Gulliford of the public health department at King's College London who is naturally excited about the findings.

He used the term "highly effective" when describing what the study discovered about benefits of the surgery.

"Our results suggest that bariatric surgery may be a highly effective method of preventing the onset of new diabetes in men and women with severe obesity," Professor Gulliford wrote.

The study included more than 2,100 severely obese adults who were followed for seven years. Results showed that those who had the weight-loss surgery, bariatric surgery, were 80% less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those who did not have it. The results took into account other risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking.

Professor Gulliford said that more study into this area, and into other areas related to obesity, weight loss and disease prevention, are necessary.

"We need to understand how weight-loss surgery can be used together with interventions to increase physical activity and promote healthy eating, as part of an overall diabetes prevention strategy," he wrote.